


Another World, He Lives in Bliss

by icandrawamoth



Series: February Ficlet Challenge 2018 [17]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: X-wing Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Birthday, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Phone Calls & Telephones, this ficlet does not deserve this title
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 04:19:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13733004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icandrawamoth/pseuds/icandrawamoth
Summary: Tycho comms home on his twenty-first birthday. A planet is destroyed. Things go differently.





	Another World, He Lives in Bliss

TIE pilots know most of them won't see their next birthday. Theirs is a dangerous life, the odds of ending up a casualty of war high, but they've all accepted it just the same. To fight for their Emperor is the most noble calling, worthy of giving one's life for.

Tycho Celchu isn't as worried as he maybe should be – he's confident in his piloting skills and confident in his ability to survive the required year in a starfighter before moving up into fleet operations. But that doesn't mean he isn't going to take advantage of the way his twenty-first birthday is treated as the most special of occasions.

His squadronmates throw him a party, or at least as much of one as they can under the stern eye of their superiors. There are drinks and gifts and stories and laughter, and then a fair amount of ribbing as Tycho slips away as early as he can to one of the _Accuser_ 's private HoloNet booths.

This is what he's really been looking forward to about today: the chance to comm home and speak with his family. He's already smiling as he punches up the connection, eager to see them. He doesn't get this opportunity often enough. Strong connections to home are looked down on in the Empire, but even his commanders can't blame him for this today.

The hologram flickers to life, and Tycho's grin widens. Everyone is gathered there in the living room of his childhood home back on Alderaan: his parents, grandparents, brother and sisters, and Nyiestra, his fiancee. As soon as they see him, they're all shouting their hellos and happy birthdays.

After that, they take turns having at him, knowing how impossible it is to talk to nine people at once. First are his parents, his mother's gentle worry over whether he's been eating and sleeping enough and his father's genuine words of how proud he his. Then come Tycho's grandparents, the three of them leaning in close around the holoprojector, wanting to know what he's been up to and telling him about their own adventures. When his little sisters and brother gather around, Tycho can't help but laugh as they pepper him with the usual enthusiastic questions, especially Skoloc. He's determined to follow Tycho into Imperial service, and he's eager to know anything that might give him a leg up.

The whole time, Tycho has half an eye on Nyiestra as she waits patiently, seated on the couch in the background wearing a yellowed-flowered dress, dark curls draping her shoulders. She would have volunteered to go last. When the kids finally lose interest and drift off, she steps forward, and the amused smile on Tycho's face softens to something else entirely.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey, yourself.” Nyiestra echos the look, her fingers reaching out, and Tycho knows she's touching the projection of his face – just as he's doing with hers. She won't care that his family is watching; she's not shy. “Happy birthday. You're a big boy now.”

Tycho chuckles, a warmth suffusing his chest that he only feels when he's with her. “I guess you could say that.”

“When do I get to see you?” she wants to know.

“I have leave on Commenor in a few weeks,” he answers. “You could come and spend it with me.”

Nyiestra brightens. “You know, I just might take you up on that.”

“I'd love it if you did.”

Nyiestra opens her mouth to reply – and the connection pixelates for a second before snapping off.

Tycho blinks in the sudden darkness of the communication cubicle, then rolls his eyes and laughs. This isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened, and the fact that his father owns the largest HoloNet provider on Alderaan only makes it more ironic. He'll have to think of some good way to rib him when the connection is reestablished.

Tycho works over the controls, inputting the link number again, waiting for the connection. He frowns when it fails. Types it in again, more carefully. Sits back in satisfaction when it begins to dial.

Nyiestra's face appears before him again, creased with laughter, and he can hear everyone else in the room echoing it. She calms herself just enough to say, “Your dad says the first thing I have to tell you is that that was definitely not under any circumstances his fault” before dissolving into giggles again. Tycho laughs right along with her.

He stays in the booth for longer than he ever has before, chatting with Nyiestra and then his family again. It feels so good to be with them, even just like this. He's seen them so little since he left home for the Academy, and it's times like this he realizes just how much he misses them.

When he finally leaves, he can't wipe the smile off his face. That warmth lingers with him for days, not dissolving entirely until he hears the news – the entire planet of Dantooine and all of its hundreds of thousands of inhabitants have been destroyed by some sort of superweapon.

Blame is being placed on the Rebels, but Tycho can feel in his gut that it's not true. The unshakable faith he's always had in his Empire begins to crack.

**Author's Note:**

> For February Ficlet Challenge prompt "barely averted disaster." Title from [this quote](http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/36812.html).


End file.
